Ten people were injured when fireworks exploded at a Loy Krathong celebration by the Mekong River in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Nakhon Phanom Tuesday night.

The incident took place behind the ceremonial stage, after the deputy governor Chawanin Wongsatitjirakarn had announced the opening of the Loy Krathong festival, the first to be held in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The injured include the man in charge of the fireworks, his assistants and bystanders. All were immediately rushed to the provincial hospital for treatment and were subsequently discharged, as they had not suffered any serious injuries.

In Bangkok, city officials have collected 572,602 krathong from across the city, compared to 403,203 last year, an increase of 42%.

Of these, 95.7% were made of natural materials and 4.3% were Styrofoam, compared to last year’s 96.5% of natural materials.

Khlong Toei district recorded the highest number of krathong collected at 27,776, of which 26,912 were made of natural materials. With only 122, Pom Prap Sattru Phai district had the fewest krathong.

The highest amount of Styrofoam krathong collected was in Prawet district, with 1,140 being collected.

No Styrofoam krathong were found Lak Si, Din Daeng, Bang Rak, Sathorn, Chom Thong, Bangkok Yai or Thawee Wattana.

City officials started collecting krathong from the Chao Phraya after 8pm, to prevent them from floating towards the estuary, which would have made them harder to recover.

About 190 city officials in boats were assigned to collect the floating krathong between the Rama VIII Bridge and the Rama XI Bridge, covering a distance of about 15km. The task ended at about 5am this morning.

The krathong made of natural material will be separated and sent to a garbage disposal plant to be turned into organic fertilizer. The Styrofoam will be buried in landfills.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service